Archive for September 2021

Isaiah 11-13, Proverbs 20:16-30, Luke 21:29-38, Hebrews 3 Luke 21:29-38: (21:29-33) As so often when Jesus is teaching, he uses a parable to explain his meaning. Such similitudes aid the understanding in the same way that windows in a house allow the light to come in. We need the solidity of the structure of understanding, but if there…

Isaiah 9-10, Proverbs 20:1-15, Luke 21:20-28, Hebrews 2:10-18    Luke 21:20-28: Jesus now once again predicts the future as a concertina—first the near horizon and then the far horizon as the prediction expands. Verses 20-24 concern the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus’ counsel to “flee” when “you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” was heeded by many Christian disciples who…

Isaiah 6-8, Proverbs 19:15-29, Luke 21:1-19, Hebrews 2:1-9 Luke 21:1-19: (21:1-4) Jesus is observing a characteristic activity of the temple: the wealthy putting their gifts in the offering. Are they doing so ostentatiously? At any rate, their giving is observable. By contrast he then observes a poor widow who only puts in a very small amount of money.…

Isaiah 3-5, Proverbs 19:1-14, Luke 20:41-47, Hebrews 1:10-41  Luke 20:41-47: Having roundly defeated his adversaries so that (in verse 40) “they no longer dared ask him any questions,” Jesus now takes his turn to ask a question himself (20:41-47). This question is designed to expose the illogical argument that his opponents were employing when they rejected the notion…

Isaiah 1-2, Proverbs 18, Luke 20:27-40, Hebrews 1:1-9   Luke 20:27-40: The Sadducees were a group of religious devotees who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, were particularly identified with the upper elite, a sort of royal aristocratic religious party. They were distinct from the Pharisees in holding that there was no resurrection of the dead—and also in…